The X-Files is coming back to television on January 24, 2016! And October is the perfect month to re-watch the original series. Why? Because the show is creepy. The perfect amount of creepiness to put you in the mood for Halloween. If you never watched The X-Files, you may mistakenly believe that the show is only about aliens and UFOs. While there are a lot of episodes that involve aliens, there are plenty of other episodes about creatures that go bump in the night. If you enjoyed shows such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the Twilight Show, you will enjoy watching The X-Files.
The show began airing in 1993 and it was on television for nine seasons for a total of 202 episodes. The show is centered on a pair of FBI Special Agents, Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully. There are many times that it comes in handy that Scully is a medical doctor. Along with keeping you healthy, she can perform autopsies. Mulder is a talented profiler, but he was drawn to the X-files because of his strong belief in the supernatural. As the series progresses, we learn that Mulder’s younger sister was abducted by aliens when they were children. But as mentioned earlier, the show is not entirely based on aliens. Agents Mulder and Scully investigate all sorts of different creatures such mutants, vampires, werewolves, and people with genetic abnormalities and psychic abilities. A theme of the show is that the United States government is aware of a lot of the creatures and people that Mulder and Scully investigate. Even after witnessing strange phenomenon first hand, Agents Mulder and Scully often find themselves being shut down by “someone” higher up in the government. The thought that the government may be keeping secrets about strange life forms is an unsettling part of the show.
If you do not want to watch all 202 episodes of The X-Files, here is a list of the episodes you must watch before the new episodes air on January 24, 2016.
Chris Carter, creator of The X-Files, recommends that you watch:
1. “Pilot” (Season 1, Episode 1)
The one that introduced Mulder, Scully, their defining characteristics, their relationship, their world.
2. “Deep Throat” (Season 1, Episode 2)
This episode introduces the idea of a government conspiracy/cover-up of extra-terrestrial activity and a mysterious informant, code named Deep Throat
3. “Beyond the Sea” (Season 1, Episode 13)
The episode that sees Scully become the believer after the death of her father overlaps with the case of an allegedly psychic serial killer
4. “The Erlenmeyer Flask” (Season 1, Episode 24)
There’s a shocking death, and from this point forward, the conspiracy storyline becomes the driving narrative of the show
5. “The Host” (Season 2, Episode 2)
There’s something sinister lurking in the sewers in this classic monster-of-the-week episode
6. “Clyde Bruckman’s Final Repose” (Season 3, Episode 4)
In one of the greatest X-Files episodes ever, Peter Boyle guest stars as a morbid psychic.
7. “Memento Mori” (Season 4, Episode 14)
Though it features the usual alien rhetoric, this episode is best remembered as the one in which Scully learns she has cancer.
8. “Post-Modern Prometheus” (Season 5, Episode 5)
A Frankenstein-inspired tale about a lovelorn monster. It’s notable for its beautiful black-and-white cinematography.
9. “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)
The signature episode from a young Vince Gilligan, Mulder and Scully investigate a vampire case told in flashback from Mulder and Scully’s POV.
10. “Milargo” (Season 6, Episode 18)
A favorite of the X-Files writing staff, Mulder and Scully contend with an author whose gruesome fiction becomes reality.
Top Ten (written by) Vince Gilligan Episodes: (fan favorites)
1. “Bad Blood” (Season 5, Episode 12)
Mulder and Scully investigate vampires from two very different POVs.
2. “Drive” (Season 6, Episode 2)
A man has a terrible headache and forces Mulder to drive him at high speeds.
3. “Pusher” (Season 3, Episode 17)
A man with psychic abilities is able to make things happen just by saying it aloud.
4. “Folie a Deaux” (Season 5, Episode 19)
A man claims his boss is a giant cockroach.
5. “Small Potatoes” (Season 4, Episode 20)
A man with a tail can morph into other men.
6. “X-Cops” (Season 7, Episode 12)
That’s right. It’s the show Cops starring Mulder and Scully.
7. “Unruhe” (Season 4, Episode 4)
A killer lobotomizes women with an ice pick, but their images show up at a photo booth surrounded by ghosts.
8. “Hungry” (Season 7, Episode 3)
A mutant with an insatiable appetite.
9. “Je Souhaite” (Season 7, Episode 21)
A magic genie causes havoc.
10. “Sunshine Days” (Season 9, Episode 18)
Murder at the “Brady Bunch house”
http://decider.com/2015/04/07/vince-gilligan-x-files-top-10/
The library has the DVD sets of The X-Files as well as the film adaptations. There are also books and graphic novels about The X-Files at the library. Check them out today.